Fran hasn't been able to hike with me for years. An old ski injury gone bad (times two) and a subsequently fused ankle have make walking difficult and painful.
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| Yeah, to the best mom in the world!! Fran carefully navigates a difficult stream crossing. |
But the power of determination shone through and she joined us at Surprise lake for a grueling 4 miles section on difficult terrain and with a vertical gain of almost 2500 ft. That is almost half a mile straight up!
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| Fran Abel and dbDog by huge doug fir tree, Surprise Lake, WA. |
She went slow, stepped carefully, suppressed the pain and let me carry some of her goods, and was thus ABEL (no pun intended) to spend a wonderful evening with Benton and I and catch another glimpse of high alpine northwest Washington she never thought she'd see in person again. Yeah to all!!
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| Fran Brad and Dog grab a handful of Gorp on a quick, middle of the trail break! |
And if this isn't inspiration enough for you to get out and walk, this gentleman will soon celebrate his 80th birthday and was at 6500' on his way to climb Surprise Mountain with another 1500' to go. His day would total over 13 miles in distance and 1 vertical mile of elevation gain.
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| My inspiration for another 40 years of hiking! |
Congrats to all! dbBrad
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